Monday, November 27, 2017

Alpha Male Diner: Dragon Stew (Fire Born by Rayanne Haines)

Welcome. Come on in for a taste of Dragon Stew. A dish best served with dark rum on the rocks, a roaring fire, and massage oil. My name is Rayanne and I’ll be your server—until the lights go dim that is. I hope you’re ready for a beast that’s spent two thousand years honing his skills. A don’t be afraid when you feel silk wings wrap around you in the dark. Sink in. Let the meal begin.

Ingredients: -Six-foot, Six-inches of muscles forged in the mountains of Vahalla

-Two-thousand years of fire, fighting, and sex

-One ancient dragon residing within

-Eyes a mix of shadow and steel

-A dash of mind control

-Unbound loyalty to those he loves

Seasoning: -Muscled arms covered in tattoos that tell the story of a time forgotten

-One packet of solitary predator

-Attitude, oh attitude, how we need to stir you in.

-A few jagged edges, broken pieces

-Careful kindness

Mix in a newbie immortal with a tenuous hold over fire, a family secret, and a war with the elementals. Our Dragon likes alone time. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t sweep you away from this party for something a little more . . . intimate.

Warning. Collum, King of the Dragons and Guardians of the Immortals, never quits and never loses.

Taste Test

Collum woke up with a headache. Too much fighting and Diplomatico rum the night before hadn't done him any favors. He swung his six-foot six-inch, two-hundred and fifty-pound frame to the edge of the bed, and pushed his hands through inky hair before massaging his temples. He was big enough and dangerous enough that he was generally left alone. Which made his line of work a little easier . . .

He walked to the window and closed the blinds. His condo was on the top floor of a building that overlooked Stanley Park and the Pacific Ocean. A view most people would kill to have. Collum didn't give a shit.

Pulling on his track pants, he turned to study his reflection in the full-length mirror. Eyes a mix of shadow and steel stared back at him. Eyes that looked tired and cynical. His muscled arms were covered in tattoos that told the story of a time forgotten. A time that had shaped mankind. He worked hard saving the world from shit on a daily basis, with no thanks. He’d stopped looking for thanks a long time ago. His father made sure of that.

He did his job and looked after his people. That was enough. Just because he’d managed to cheat the reaper for a while didn't mean shit. He could meet his match today as quick as the next.

Being a guardian wasn't for the faint of heart. As the leader, Collum spent less time getting his hands dirty than in the past. He was still what he was, though, and if you asked around you'd hear you didn't want to mess with him. Collum took orders from no one and very few people ever risked pissing him off. He only had one real friend. In his position, he couldn't afford to like too many people. It was easier to remain solitary. Dragons didn't make good friends.

That didn't mean he didn't like pleasure. Two thousand years of sex makes you pretty good at it, and Collum liked being good. He liked watching the ladies faces when he hit their buttons just right. He liked hearing their screams of pleasure in place of the screams of death that usually followed him. Collum loved soft skin and waves of silky hair, and tiny toes that curled when he brought them to orgasm. Sometimes, a night with a woman was the only thing that reminded him of why he chose to protect this world.

The knock on his bedroom door was quickly replaced by Glenn walking in with the paper. “It’s about time you woke up. It’s almost noon.”

“I don’t recall asking you to be my father—only my housekeeper.”

“Yes, well, when you killed him, I decided to take on the role. So, I guess you’re stuck with my paternal instincts, like it or not.”

The two men glowered at each other for a minute before Collum backed down. “You were more of a father to me than he ever was.”

“Precisely why I agreed with you that he had to die.”

Collum turned his back on the man and grabbed a gray T-shirt out of the dresser in the corner of the room. He didn’t want to think about that right now. “You have any coffee?”

“You’re going to have to talk about it at some point you know.”

“Why? She’ll still be dead, won’t she? The bastard still lived longer than he should have.” He stared hard at the old man in front of him. “Coffee?”

Glenn stiffened slightly before masking his face with an air of indifference. “Of course. It’s probably cold by now. I’ll make a new batch.”

As he walked out of the room, Collum frowned but didn’t call him back or apologize. He wasn’t a child, and didn’t need to talk about what happened. It had been twenty-five years and he’d done what needed to be done. He always did what needed to be done.

Collum was halfway down the glass stairs of his condo for that cup of black coffee when his cell rang. Addicted to knowledge, he had played a large, if silent role in the advancements of many technologies humans took for granted. His iPhone was never out of his reach.

“Yep. What?”

“Hello, is this Collum Thronus?”

“How did you get this number?” was his terse reply.

“This is Quinn Taleisin. I'm Kaylen's daughter. Her granddaughter was attacked today right after the mysterious appearance of a flame tattoo on her foot. We need your help.”

Collum sat on the stairs, the coffee and Glenn forgotten, and let his head drop. “Tell me where you are. I'm on my way.”

by Rayanne HainesSeptember 13th, 2017 Genre: Paranormal Romance Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing ISBN: 978-1-68291-511-0 ASIN: B074WFSD7G Number of pages: 224 Word Count: 70,000.00 Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde When Alex Taleisin’s immortal DNA kicks in after a fight for her life against something not-quite-human in the YMCA parking lot, her Aunt finally lets her in on the family secret. They’re Immortal – Elementals to be precise. Only, Alex is a little something more, and until they discover what, her life is in danger.

Collum Thronus, Guardian of the Races and savage King of the Dragons has no choice but to protect Alex and find her father’s people. He made a promise and Collum always keeps his promises. Now, he needs to keep his hands of his charge.

Enter an insane grandfather, a shifter with a hidden agenda, and a witch with a shoe addiction and soon Alex is wishing for a quiet house in the hills with the dragon she’s falling for. But a battle is coming and Alex knows the only way to find her answers is to trust her powers and become the warrior she was destined to be.

Rayanne Haines is a published poet, romance fiction author, and arts manager.

She writes Paranormal Romance with Kick-Ass Heroines. She believes in magic and legend and all the things we cannot see. Rayanne prefers her alpha males a little gritty and the women who love them, in charge of their own destiny.

Fire Born is the first book of the Guardian Series published by Soul Mate Publishing. Magic Born is available June 2018.